


White Rabbit

by thatdamnuchiha



Series: Moon Born [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: (well if I stick with the MadaSaku pairing), Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Champions, Character Death, Demons, Elements, F/M, Fantasy, Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Haruno Sakura is So Done, Haruno Sakura-centric, Immortality, Immortals, M/M, Mages, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plot, Rabbits, Reincarnation, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Spirits, Strong Haruno Sakura, Supernatural Elements, Worldbuilding, like right at the beginning, so much plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22297540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatdamnuchiha/pseuds/thatdamnuchiha
Summary: Rebirth is strange, or so Sakura finds out upon her deathbed.Snatched out of Death’s grasp by a figure so similar to Ootsutsuki Kaguya, she finds herself reborn in a world of immortal mages and gods – some of who bear alarming resemblance to those of her last life. Still, not everything is as peaceful as it seems.There’s a plot in the works, and this time it’s no Moon Eye Plan. Chosen by the last god she would have ever wanted, named her champion, Sakura fights – because destruction is coming to that world, and she’ll be damned if she dies again.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Madara, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Moon Born [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605001
Comments: 33
Kudos: 298
Collections: Down The Rabbit Hole, Of Tales and Tears, The Many Iterations of Haruno Sakura





	1. Kaguya Calls

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is a Fantasy AU, and I'm not sure if I'll stick with the above pairings - but they're not the main focus, because Sakura actually needs to grow up in this fic.
> 
> Not sure what else I should say, but if I think of anything, I'll add it here.

There were five of them there in that place.

Four against one, and the four were losing. It was a slow, but sure sight, and Death could tell that much. There had once been six of them, but that sixth had long since been turned to dust and ash where he had stood. Death had claimed that very soul by themself. Now they were down to four, and no matter how hard they all tried, they could not scratch the immovable force they were up against – Ootsutsuki Kaguya.

The black-haired male had been the first to fall prey to the so-called goddess, and soon it became apparent who would be the next to go.

Green eyes widened, short pink hair fluttering in front of her face as her fist slammed into empty air. Death could see the comprehension which flashed across her face as she realised exactly what her failed attack meant for her. Her heartbeat thudded in Death’s ears – a prelude to its final fate – the hairs across her body pricking as she found herself the sole focus of that pearly-eyed gaze. It promised nothing but death, and it was that which one Haruno Sakura greeted as a pale white hand speared through her chest.

Screams met her ears and she stared blankly on, oblivious to the cries of her teammates as the seal on her forehead finally gave way. Blood gushed from her chest at an alarming speed even as she fell back towards the ground, body pirouetting through the air like a ghastly dance. One which only had a single ending. Death surged forwards, intent on claiming the soul – of sending it onto the Pure World just as they had done with one Uchiha Obito. Just as they reached the cooling body though, something unexpected happened.

They saw her first, a phantasmal copy of Kaguya lingering in the corner of their gaze, and they heard the words next, _“Not this one.”_

Death tilted their head, staring at the one stark difference between the spectre and the living goddess intent on giving him more souls to send on their way.

Rabbit ears, white and long, extended up and out of the spirit’s hair in place of horns, and those pale pink lips moved again. _“She is mine.”_

Death looked at the sleeping soul of one Haruno Sakura, blinking placidly as they acknowledged the claim. For there was something of that rabbit goddess buried inside the soul before them. There was a claim, and so they abided by the rules set before them.

Smiling, the rabbit goddess moved forwards, gathering her claimed soul into her arms. She vanished just as quickly as she had appeared, leaving Death behind to claim the three souls which would never be able to follow one Haruno Sakura’s.

* * *

In another world, far, far away from the place destroyed by Ootsutsuki Kaguya, in a small town on the Westernmost Coast, a baby’s wails pierced the cold night air. The house the sounds came from was a small one, and yet it radiated such warmth even on a winter’s eve. Inside the main bedroom of that home, a man rejoiced as he became a father, and a woman cried in exhausted happiness as she became a mother.

The babe, a small pink-haired thing with jade green eyes, peered around the room, crying loudly as they did.

“A baby girl,” Haruno Kizashi breathed, cradling his new-born daughter, blissfully oblivious to the spectral form of the rabbit goddess hovering in the corner. “She has your eyes…”

Haruno Mebuki propped herself up on her elbows. “Let… Let me see her,” she panted, collapsing back against the sheets moments later, bringing her arms up to cradle her daughter as Kizashi placed her down atop her chest. “She’s beautiful,” she whispered, even amidst the loud wails. “Though she certainly has your lungs… shh, my dear… you’re home now…” She ran a finger against the ruddy cheek, smiling as her husband laughed heartily.

“I can’t deny that,” Kizashi said with a smile. “So, what will we call her? Kagami? After your grandmother?”

Mebuki shook her head. “I don’t think this one is a Kagami,” she said, grinning as the cries died away, and those big green eyes locked on her matching ones with a gleam Mebuki couldn’t quite place as she spoke. “Sakura,” she decided. “Her name will be Sakura.”

Kizashi lifted his daughter up, cradling her to his chest even as the midwife helped clean his wife up. “Welcome to the family, Haruno Sakura,” he whispered, blissfully ignorant of his daughter’s true nature…

_Of that which she would grow up to be._

But even if neither of her parents were aware – there was one who understood her origins and that which she would become in good time. The rabbit goddess smiled in the dimness of the shadows, milky white hair shifting in the ethereal breeze as she moved ever closer to the joyful father. Kaguya’s smile only grew, ignoring the way the child’s bright green eyes widened at the sight of her standing there. _For the young could sometimes see that which the old could not._ She reached out, finger brushing her cheek in a mirror of the motherly affection Mebuki had displayed only moments before, smiling even as the girl’s face wrinkled and her cries reached fever pitch. She had been through an ordeal, Kaguya knew, but there was worse in store for her yet.

Sighing quietly, Kaguya stepped backwards, closing her eyes as those familiar black tendrils wove their way over her skin like cracks, pulling her spirit back toward where it was meant to be. Where it was forced to be.

_“Do not let me down, my champion.”_


	2. Arc One | The Wolves of Ookami

**Chapter I: A New World**

Two of the Haruno Household remained blissfully ignorant to the rabbit goddess’ visit to their little patch of land on the Westernmost Coast of the region named Shiyama, but there was one who remembered. Sighing quietly, Sakura flopped back on her playmat. The ceiling was a grimy white above her, as most were – the hygiene standards didn’t seem to be as good as they had in her last life, nor was paint so readily available – but she had long since decided she would make do with what she had.

There was nothing else which could be done. _She had died,_ and three years ago she had been born there again. Kaguya had been there too, and yet she had been different. Not different enough to keep her from screaming, but it certainly made Sakura wonder.

_Had those really been rabbit ears attached to the sides of Kaguya’s head?_

Yawning, Sakura went back to her reading, knowing her parents would be away on business for a little while longer. _Why they had thought it alright to leave a three-year-old with absolutely no supervision made her question their intelligence this time around…_ Then again, she hadn’t exactly behaved as a normal little girl – not that her parents had ever questioned, if they had actually noticed anything at all. There weren’t too many children her age about – though there seemed to be plenty a couple of years older or younger, not that she had interacted with them much. Though the number of children wasn’t all that surprising. They were a fairly large town, even as far west as they were in the world. The winter had just been harsher when she had been born compared to the other years, and the number of pregnancies and infants that had survived it had been slim.

East was where most things were based, Sakura had learnt, and only poor hicks lived as far west as she did. In the east, there were said to be cities made out of brick and stone – the roads paved with tile rather than the mud she always saw whenever she looked out of the window. But Sakura had been born in the west, and that was likely where she would stay.

“Just means I have more to do,” she muttered, rolling onto her front, pushing herself up onto her short stubby legs. She could still feel her chakra, and that meant her healing abilities could easily be regained. That was her goal for the time being, given the lacking information on her new world. Had it been the Elemental Nations she would have been fine – she would have simply aspired to become a shinobi yet again – but her new lands didn’t look even remotely the same.

There was only one large continent on the map in her father’s library surrounded by sea on all sides. A tiny spot of land in a vast ocean, or so it looked like in relation to the enormity of the Elemental Nations. Or maybe it was just that large? Sakura didn’t know, and she likely wouldn’t be getting her answers anytime soon thanks to her undersized body.

Toddling over to the bookshelf, she pried it from the shelf it was on, frowning as she read. The language was the same dialect of the Elemental Nations, so thankfully there were no problems with her reading it. Her parents found it adorable, thinking she couldn’t understand a single word on the pages. It gave them an excuse to interact with her beyond babying her, and it gave Sakura an excuse to giggle and entertain her parents with her _attempts_ to read.

They weren’t attempts, not that Sakura would even inform them of the fact.

She was happy there, despite how her last life had ended. This world was strange and new, and Sakura fully intended to explore every inch of it when she had the chance.

* * *

Sakura was well aware of her tendency to drive her parents insane with worry – something they had learnt to do rather swiftly as soon as they had let her toddle off into the village at the respectable age of six. She had vanished from her mother’s side in an instant, returning to two worried parents hours later, having finished with her exploration of the rather tiny village. It was barely a tenth of the size of Konoha, and there was only one other person aside from her parents – one child – that she recognised.

Ami.

Her old bully, and she was roughly a year older than her, not that she had gone over to say hi. She had just watched from afar after trying, and failing, to get her chakra to stick her feet to the walls. She still a long way to go with her chakra, and her stores were still building from the thimbleful she had been born with.

Nobody else in the village could use or teach her how to use chakra, she had confirmed in her little wander about the place, and it made her wonder what role chakra actually played in her new world. _Perhaps she would find out if she ever visited a larger town,_ she mused, tilting her head as she waited for her allotted time allowed outside.

She had read through all the books in her home by that point, and books were hard to come by in a village as remote as theirs, so boredom was a rather large issue whilst cooped up in her room. She couldn’t even practice her chakra control – given the few methods she knew were either too advanced for her level of control or they were too destructive.

Her chakra was different now too. It had taken awhile for her to notice, thanks to it being sedentary in her core whilst growing, but it moved sluggishly through the pathways in her body. It felt thick and gloopy, and overall rather hard to move. She had already tried to make it circulate upon reaching her sixth birthday – when according to old Konoha textbooks was the best time to begin chakra control for those without strong shinobi heritage – to no avail.

Still, if there was one thing she had learnt from pursuing Sasuke all those years ago – it was how to be stubborn.

She sat in the middle of her room, legs crossed and a cushion underneath to keep her comfortable as she dived into meditation.

It was there as always – her chakra pool – and it was the size of a large puddle to her mind’s eye. Her forehead wrinkled in concentration. _Now for the tricky part._ She reached out, willing her chakra to move, scowling when it remained still. _But her chakra wasn’t about to defeat her stubborn will._

Tug.

Sakura pulled yet again, firmer that time. _It was like there was some sort of barrier keeping her chakra from her. All she needed to do was break that barrier – something she had been chipping away at for the better part of half a year._

Tug.

_Tug._

Gritting her teeth, she yanked on her chakra, grip firm on the inky blue strands. “Come on!” she hissed, pulling with all her might. The thread of chakra stretching until it looked an awfully pale blue. “Just a bit more…”

Tug.

_SNAP._

The thread broke, and Sakura’s eyes shot open as the chakra thread bounced back into the heart of her core as it shrank inwards, glowing with a blue light as it exploded through her body. She’d done it. Sakura could feel a grin forming on her face, even as her body started to glow with the blue light of her chakra.

Her chakra had been released from its core, and it hummed around her, as if to greet her. _Like an old friend._ But it was as her chakra was being released that she noticed it. A second source of sorts, and it glowed white. _Like the moon._ It hovered there, hidden behind where her chakra core had once been trapped – it was no wonder she hadn’t noticed it in her bid to free her chakra.

The sounds of doors opening and closing had her concentration snapping. Footsteps creaked on the stairs, and Sakura was abruptly reminded she was glowing. Cursing silently, she pulled a large portion of her chakra back to her core, leaving only the barest trickle running through her pathways, making it spiral like ribbon against the edges of her chakra pathways. Controlling her chakra had always been fun for her – the sheer amount of manipulation she had over it was alarming compared to most others.

It had made her feel special, and if there was one thing she liked – it was feeling special. Her teammates had been far too special for their own good, and it had taken her years of hard work just to be able to share the spotlight with them.

She would be lying if she didn’t want to feel special in her new world.

Some part of her craved the feeling, along with craving strength. Strength was needed to survive, and weird chakra or not, she would be clawing her _monstrous_ strength back.

“Sakura!” Her mother popped her head around the door. “Lunchtime!”

A smile spread over her face, and Sakura leapt to her feet, cheeks reddening as her stomach growled ridiculously loud. “Hee,” she mumbled, scratching the back of her head sheepishly as her mother laughed.

“And what have you been doing to work up such an appetite, little bean?” Mebuki tilted her head, crouching down to poke at her ticklish sides. “I do hope you haven’t wasted all that energy of yours,” she said, opening the door for Sakura. “I know you love your exploring.”

“Un!” Sakura hurried out the door, racing for the stairs.

“Walk down those stairs, Sakura!” her mother yelled behind her, and Sakura huffed as she slowed her pace to ensure she didn’t fall down the stairs. Her body was younger, and far more breakable than what she was used to, thanks to her chakra being locked away in her core in its entirety for six years and a bit.

“Walking!” Sakura chirped, carefully reaching the bottom, yelping as she was picked up and swung in a circle.

“How’s our favourite little bean today?” her father queried. “Still making your way through your books?”

“Yep!” Sakura nodded.

“That’s my girl!” Kizashi said, smiling as he set her back on her feet. “You go and sit at the table, Kura – and don’t forget to wash those hands of yours.”

“Doing that,” Sakura mumbled, heading into the bathroom – the one place in the house with some semblance of ancient plumbing. The water was cold, but Sakura had long since grown accustomed to that. They could only allow the water to be heated up when it came to baths, more so due to the amount of time it took to heat the water up to a satisfactory degree.

Humming quietly, she ran back to the dining room, all but leaping onto her chair – energised and very _very_ hungry no doubt thanks to awakening her chakra and sending it through her coils for the first time.

She was looking forwards to her walk more than ever, though food was higher on the list of priorities and her stomach certainly agreed with her there.

* * *

Walking around the village a while after lunch always revealed something new to her eager eyes. The first time it had been a fox – a kind of animal dearly loved for some strange reason. It was odd to her, having lived in a village which despised foxes, but she’d had years to grow accustomed to the nuances of the slightly different culture of the villagers.

“Look!” She tugged on her father’s wrist as she spotted the small fluffy creature darting across the path in front of them. “It’s a—”

“Rabbit.” Kizashi’s lips twisted down. “How unlucky.”

“’Coz it’s a black rabbit?”

Her father blinked, looking down at her with a soft smile. “Black rabbits are far more welcomed than white ones, little bean.”

Sakura blinked at the new information that had been dumped on her lap. Apparently there was an equivalent for the dislike of foxes Konoha once had – and it was the kind of creature foxes usually hunted. _Maybe that was why foxes were liked._ “Huh…”

“Come along,” her father spoke, pulling at her wrist, but Sakura slipped it from his grasp and wandered into the bushes. “Sakura!”

“They’re cute…” she mumbled, blinking as she stumbled out from the brush into a little forested area. The little black rabbit was still there, only this time it wasn’t alone. Brown, grey, and black fluffy bodies hopped about, freezing in place as she darted out of the undergrowth in a flurry of leaves and twigs.

Chills ran down her spine, her father’s shouts for her to _come back_ fading as she caught sight of one of the rabbits – one which kept staring at her even as the other little fluffy creatures started moving away.

Milky purple eyes bore into her own, white fur ruffling in the wind as it simply waited there. Long ears perked up, pale nose twitching in her direction as her father came out of the bush behind her. “Sakura! Don’t run off on me, little…”

“Papa—”

Kizashi lifted her from the ground. “We need to go, little bean,” he whispered, cuddling her to his chest, and Sakura could only stare into those milky lavender eyes from over her father’s shoulder. There was something about them which had her transfixed, a low tugging in her gut which made her want to go and pick the little creature up if only to snuggle her face into its soft white fluff.

“Dear?” Mebuki looked over at them as they came from the bushes, a paper bag of market goods bundled in her arms. “You look awfully pale…”

“We should go home,” he said, a frown on his face. “There’s an ill omen lurking about.”

“What?” her mother asked, a confused expression on her face as Kizashi started on the path back home. “You know they’re only superstitions… Rabbits can’t hurt you…”

“It was a white rabbit, Mebuki,” he said, and Sakura glanced over to see her mother’s reaction. She didn’t really understand why her father was so shaken – it was just a rabbit. Not even in Konoha had there been reactions like her father’s own when faced with the most hated creature in the village.

“There have been—”

“It had purple eyes… like the ones from those paintings…” He stared at the ground as they walked. “How many rabbits do you come across with features like that?”


	3. Tests of Courage

**Chapter II: Tests of Courage**

The image of the rabbit haunted her. When she stirred in her sleep, she felt like those eyes were still fixed on her – those pale lavender pools – which made her shudder at the thought of Kaguya. One of the first people she had seen in that new world. It had to mean something, she knew – but what that was, she had no idea where to even begin.

She ran her finger down the spine of yet another book – one of children’s tales, one she had overlooked in her eagerness to find only useful information about her new life.

“Still reading, huh?” her father peered down at her, a smile on his face. “You’re so smart, Sakura… and whilst that’s not a bad thing to be—” he lifted her up, spinning her around as he always tended to do in all his exuberance “—I think it’s time you made some friends.”

“Are you both ready?” Mebuki asked, pushing the door open to the study. “The celebrations will be beginning soon, and I don’t particularly want to miss them this time around.”

“You missed them for me last time,” Sakura mumbled, biting her lip as she remembered how her mother had stayed behind the past few years to keep her company.

Seven was an important number in her new life, as was nine – though she had reached the age of seven first, so that was what was to be celebrated. Had she been born a boy, then there were no doubts her father would have started to teach her a craft, but she was a girl through and through, no matter how much mud she stomped through. They began their crafts at nine, so she would have to wait before she could express an interest in the healing arts. “Don’t look so upset,” Mebuki said, pinching her cheek. “You were too young to attend, and we wouldn’t want you getting hurt by playing with bigger children… you’re awfully small for your age.”

Sakura huffed. “The others are just bigger, that’s all.”

Kizashi chuckled, shifting her around, carrying her with one arm as they ventured outdoors in the early evening light. “That’s one way to put it,” he said, prodding at her ticklish side. “But that doesn’t mean you aren’t short.”

Pouting, Sakura let herself be carried into the heart of their village, humming under her breath as the white lanterns were lit. They hung between houses, arches of light for the celebration of those who had passed. All Hallows Eve they called it – the time when the veil between life and death was the thinnest, and their gods walked amongst them.

She would be travelling to the temple sometime after her ninth birthday to be blessed by those same gods. The Temple, as everyone in the village called it, was a special place and it was there that a child would be tested for _magic_ – whatever that was. Sakura didn’t understand – only that it was a strange power few possessed, unlike chakra, and it was apparently granted by their gods. As the only child of her age group she would also have to travel there alone, and the thought would have scared her had she been unable to claw back some of her old strength. As it stood, she had, and she would only regain more of it over the next two years she had until that time came, especially with how she was stretching her chakra core. _By the time she was twelve once more she wouldn’t have the measly reserves she once had as a genin._ She would be far stronger.

“Ah, Kizashi… is this your daughter?” a man with purplish hair asked, striding towards them, and Sakura caught sight of movement at his hip. “I’ve been meaning to pop over… introduce our daughters. They’re only a year apart in age.”

“Well this is a good a time as any for them to meet,” her father said, setting her down, and Sakura swallowed at the sight of her bully in a previous life. “Sakura, this is Ami and her father – who runs the local bakery, where we get that bread you like.”

“Hi?” Sakura offered, glancing up at the purple-haired man briefly. “Hi Ami’s dad.”

“Why don’t you go and introduce Sakura to a few of your friends, dear?” he mused, smiling encouragingly at the smaller purple-haired girl.

“OK.” Ami nodded, grabbing her by the hand, leading away from where there parents were and towards the edge of the clearing the festival had been set up in. “My friends are this way.”

Sakura stumbled behind her on shorter legs, not finding it too much trouble to keep up with the older girl. “Are your friends nice? Will they like me?” she asked, staring at the duplicate of her former bully, wondering if her new world would turn out to be something like her old. Not that she would take Ami’s bullying lying down. She knew far too many ways to retaliate, mostly thanks to Naruto.

“Maybe. I dunno.” Ami shrugged, leading her over to the gaggle of girls.

“Neh, Ami, who’s this?” One of the girls, a redhead with hair styled into an afro, asked, peering at her curiously with very narrow eyes.

“She’s Sakura. The daughter of the Haruno family,” Ami explained, turning to her. “Sakura, this is Kasumi, one of my friends.”

“Uh. Nice to meet you?” Sakura offered, a warm smile on her face. “I hope we can be friends.”

“Sure.” Kasumi smiled back, and Sakura found herself relaxing ever so slightly at the sight. _Maybe things would be better this time around._

“Ami, come quick!” another girl shouted, waving Ami over.

Sakura could only watch as Ami hurried away, smiling briefly in her direction before she raced after her friend. “You came at a good time,” Kasumi remarked, coming to stand next to her. “I think Fuki will be starting the test of courage soon.”

“The test of courage?” she parroted, blinking in confusion. If she really had been her age, she likely would have been terrified at the prospect. Courage wasn’t something she’d always had in spades. “What’s that?”

“You just have to go into the forest. Nothing dangerous… but you can’t tell our parents, OK? They’ll get really mad, and no one will like you for being a tattletale!” Kasumi declared, and Sakura nodded dumbly in response. The most dangerous thing out there was probably foxes, or maybe rabbits going on everyone’s reactions to them.

Or so she had thought fifteen minutes ago, before she’d ventured unafraid into those dense trees. Really she should have known something would go wrong, because it was _Team Seven_ luck she had – and it was that which had wound up with her facing Zabuza on her first C-Rank. Of course nothing would really prevent similar occurrences from happening in her new world.

“Nice wolfie?” she mumbled, slowly backing away from the hulking, brown-furred beast in front of her. Of course she would find the most dangerous creature which could easily kill her untrained and underprepared self.

_It was just like Wave, all over again._ Only this time there were no teammates to fall back on, or a sensei to protect all of them. Instead, there was just her, a bunch of civilian preteens a few hundred metres away, and their non-combatant parents even further away than that.

Her face twisted into a grimace. _How was she going to get out of her latest sticky situation this time around…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the short update, as well as the lack of them, I'm getting some works ready for MadaSaku Week, as well as trying to start some other fics because the plot bunnies won't leave me alone.


	4. Of Rabbits & Wolves

**Chapter III: Of Rabbits & Wolves**

There was no way to run away. Of that Sakura was certain – she was too slow in her current form, no matter a minor chakra enhancement. Her chakra wasn’t developed enough, and neither was she. Slowly, she backed away, heart racing when she bumped into a tree. _Cornered with a tree at her back_. Sakura scowled, heart racing as the wolf growled, saliva dripping down from its sharp teeth. If those got a hold of her, she was done for.

But how was she supposed to get away?

It stepped towards her then, growling all the while, and Sakura lifted her fists. “Come on, then,” she hissed, fear and adrenaline surging. As if in answer, the wolf surged forwards, and Sakura almost swore. Chakra flooded down towards her feet as she leapt up, eyes widening when she found herself crouched on the tree trunk, chakra sticking her feet to the tree almost instinctively. “That”—she breathed—“was close…”

Sickly yellow eyes looked upwards, and Sakura shivered as the wolf stared up at her, chills racing down her spine – and suddenly she was acutely aware of how quickly her chakra was draining as she stuck her feet to the tree. _She needed to move over to the branch and wait…_ Pink hair framed her face as she stared down, feet unmoving as fear gripped at her.

_She had survived Uchiha Madara, and she had only died at the hands of a so-called goddess –_ those were so much greater than a _stupid_ little wolf. Chakra thrummed as if in answer, and she started channelling it to her fists, ready to punch the wolf into oblivion. _She could do it._ It would be enough – it had to be. _Or she could stay up in the tree where it was safe…_ Either way she needed to move.

_How long was she going to hide?_ the sly voice in the back of her head whispered. _How much longer was she going to stare at their backs?_

She tore her eyes away from the beast, trying to pull herself away from the fear – and it was then that she saw it. A snow white rabbit. The same she had seen earlier. Pale purple eyes bore into her head, and Sakura squinted at the sight of the rabbit in the tree. _What was it doing there?_ Rabbits couldn’t climb. Rabbits weren’t supposed to be staring at her from trees. _It was downright creepy._

A growl made her glance down, and she shook herself – ridding herself of the unnecessary thoughts as she focused on the real threat.

_She needed to defeat it._

_Move forwards._

Her lips pulled back, baring her teeth in a snarl as she relinquished her chakra’s grip on the tree, gravity taking a hold as she fell. White surged in her belly, and Sakura found herself forced to abandon her plan to _punch_ the enemy in front of her as the odd white chakra grabbed a hold of the blue, yanking it down to her legs. _But she was a shinobi through and through, and they adjusted to each battle situation._ Flipping, she brought her leg down, foot instead of fist slamming down into the brown furred mass, a _crack_ rending the air as her foot tore through bone. “Shannaro!” Sakura hissed, grinning at the whimper and yelp which sounded from the beast underneath her. “How’d you like that?” she muttered, relief seeping through her as yellow eyes glazed over in death. Her legs wobbled, and she wanted to sit down and relax. Her heart was pounding like a drum, and she felt exhaustion sweeping through her as the adrenaline faded.

But she needed to hurry back. Her chakra was down to maybe a third of what she’d had originally upon entering the forest, and she didn’t know if there were more wolves—

Rustling in the bushes made her stomach drop to her toes. Internally, she cursed the universe, hating herself for not simply staying in the tree and yelling for help loudly as three more sleek black or brown wolves padded out from the undergrowth. Forest green eyes locked on her own, and Sakura blinked. _Were wolves supposed to have such beautiful eyes?_ she mused, looking between green and the honeyed brown of the other two beasts.

Her hands came up, clenched into fists. “Come at me then,” she hissed, readying to fight _or run like hell._ She didn’t have enough chakra for _three_ wolves, and she doubted she’d be able to outpace them – but she’d be damned if she didn’t go out without some sort of a fight. “I’ll fight you with my _very_ small fists!”

Silence fell in the clearing, broken only by the hooting of an owl as she crossed glares with them. _Or at least she assumed they were glaring._

But the laughter that rumbled through the clearing then made her flush, and Sakura looked about, searching for the source of the laughter. _She would die of embarrassment if someone from the village had heard that._ She’d sounded like a terrified child trying to be brave. _She was brave._

“No need for that, cub,” the voice rumbled from the wolf’s mouth, and Sakura blinked hard. _Some sort of summons? Or were talking animals that much more common in her new world?_

Her fists remained clenched.

_He_ – the wolf had a masculine voice and summons usually preferred not being addressed as it so she would do the same there – continued to chuckle, green eyes locked on her trembling form. “We were out to hunt our old comrade here, anyway,” he said, and Sakura stumbled back as the wolf strode towards her confidently. “You saved us a job, and I suppose you can have my thanks for that, little rabbit.”

Sakura blinked. “Rabbit?”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as the wolf paced around her, staring at her with those green _green_ eyes. “You stink of them,” he said, voice a low rumble, eyes narrowing to slits. “And I’ve only known one other to carry the same stench as you… the same potency…”

“What?” Her brow furrowed, confusion replacing some of the terror she felt. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say…”

A soft snort met her ears. “Of course you don’t… you’re too young, and too isolated from the world it seems,” he mused. “The nearest village is fairly far out from the other clusters of your kind, but I suppose few people would want to move out to this place. Especially with Ookami…” He shook his furred head. “Come back to the forest once you’re bigger, little rabbit warrior. I have a feeling you’ll be worthy of her blessing then.”

Sakura blinked again. “What?” she repeated, very far beyond confused as to what the hell was going on. Only that the two other brown-furred wolves were dragging away the carcass of their companion who she’d defeated.

“You’re a warrior… and yet you’re so small,” he said, backing her up against the tree, chuckling as her legs shook as they remained there – nose to nose. “I can only imagine you’ll grow better fangs and claws as you get bigger… Ookami likes warriors like you.” Sakura swallowed, feeling as though those forest green eyes were burning into her very soul. “So come find us when you’ve grown… I’ll be waiting.”

Sakura blinked yet again, and then she was alone in the clearing. Her hands shook and she glanced down at them, the dirt stains and throbbing pain the only reminder of what she had just been through.

“Sakura!”

“Oh,” she mumbled, remembering finally that she was meant to be doing a test of courage. _And what a test of courage it had been._ “Over here!” she yelled, hurrying towards the edge of the forest she had so foolishly ventured into at a late hour. _When all the monsters came out to play._ Sakura shuddered, remembering those sickly yellow eyes looking at her like she was dinner, shaking her head to rid those thoughts as she ran into Ami and an unfamiliar redhead – her hair was a deep auburn red, compared to Kasumi’s carrottop red.

“Where’d you go?” the redhead demanded, arms crossed. “It’s been ten minutes – everyone was worried!”

“Sakura!” Her mother barged through the last few remaining trees between her and the village celebration. “Honestly, what were you thinking?” she demanded. “We’ll be having words about this later, young lady. Now come here,” Mebuki ordered, opening her arms as she crouched down.

Sakura paused for a moment, stumbling forwards only when she spotted the sheer _worry_ in her mother’s gaze. _Of course._ She was just a little seven-year-old girl. And if she had been an ordinary one she would no doubt be lying back in the forest, bleeding out from that wolf’s attack. “Sorry, mama,” she mumbled, wrapping her stick-like arms around her mother, guilt overwhelming her at the slight tremble in her mother’s limbs.

“Tch.” The redhead scowled. “The test of courage is ruined now!”

Her mother turned sharply, and Sakura could feel the scathing glare her mother sent the little girl’s way. “There’ll be no more tests of courage, if I have any say in this,” she said, hand rubbing Sakura’s back soothingly. “Haven’t your parents told you _not_ to go into the forest – especially not at night, and never without any adult supervision…”

The redhead stomped her foot.

“Sorry,” Sakura mumbled, feeling oddly guilt for ruining the night. _Even though she’d had a brush with death thanks to her ridiculous luck_. “I got lost…”

_Like hell she was telling her mother she had run into a wolf, or four._ She would probably find herself wrapped up in blankets back home for weeks if she said that.

“You should be,” the redhead snarled. “Everything would have been better if you hadn’t—”

“Fuki, be nice!” Ami hissed, yanking on her friend’s arm. “It’s my fault. I brought her here, and I should have gone into the forest with her… she’s never been into the forest before, even with her parents – it’s no wonder she got lost!”

Sakura blinked. _Was Ami defending her?_

_What had the world come to?_

“She’s a year younger than us, you know,” Ami continued, but Mebuki was already carrying her away and back towards the bonfire crackling in the middle of the gathering.

“Are you angry, mama?” she asked, peering up at her mother as she carried her back towards her father.

“No, Sakura,” her mother said, sighing deeply. “I was worried, silly bean… You don’t know what lurks in this forest around us – but believe you me, no matter if you get nightmares, I’ll be changing that fact as of tomorrow.” She kissed her forehead gently. “I love you, Sakura. Never forget that.”

Sakura smiled into her mother’s kimono. “Love you too, mama!”

Her mother smiled.

“You found her then?” her father asked, relief in his voice. “Thank goodness… I was just about to bring the search party,” he said, and Sakura pulled her face away from her mother’s shoulder to look over at the array of people standing close by her father.

It was odd, she mused as she was placed down. She kept forgetting she was a child, and that she wasn’t in the same world where her parents had let her run around the village with reckless abandon. Adults worried over small children. Sakura knew she loved and hated in in turns. Because her parents cared about her very much, yes, but that also meant it was a nightmare to try and train with her chakra.

And now she needed to do just that even more. She had almost been taken down by a measly wolf – sure it was a wolf which could have probably talked, but it was still a terrible way to die. Especially for a shinobi who’d survived the assault of a man who’d been referred to as a demon, a match for the god of shinobi himself, and a so-called goddess with power to back it up.

“Do you want to stay a bit longer, Sakura?” her mother asked, glancing down at her worriedly. “That forest was probably really scary, and you’re a brave girl for not crying…”

Sakura glanced around, squinting as she spotted Ami making her way over to her sheepishly. “I’ll stay a bit longer,” she said, edging over to meet the girl, nodding at her mother’s shout to _not go too far_.

“Are you going home?” Ami asked, wringing her hands together as she looked down at her.

Sakura tilted her head. “Soon, I think.”

Ami bit her lip. “I just wanted to say sorry,” she mumbled, scratching at the back of her neck. “My mother has told me lots of scary stuff about what happens to people if they go into the forest too deep, or if they get lost… and I know you’re younger than me. I should’ve been more careful. Mum’s already started nagging me about it.”

“It all worked out in the end though, didn’t it?” Sakura smiled. “It was fun, despite the whole _getting lost_ thingymbob, so thanks for that.”

It was Ami’s turn to blink dumbly for a change. “I… guess?” she said. “I suppose I’ll see you around then?” she murmured, scuffing the dirt under her feet as she backed away slowly. “It’s pretty cool that you didn’t start screaming though… most people do on their first time…”

Sakura giggled. _Like hell she’d scream over something like that._

“You done then?” her father asked, having snuck up behind her.

Sakura nodded. “Un!”

“Right then,” he said, hefting her up into his arms. “Time to get you home, I think… we’ve had enough scares for one night.” He pinched her nose gently. “You just keep getting into trouble, don’t you, little munchkin?”

Sakura screwed her face up, glaring at him. _She could take being called bean, but reminding her of her lacking height…_ She scowled. “Do not!”

Her father laughed, the belly-deep sound she remembered from her old life and her new one. He’d always had a nice laugh… _just like that strange wolf._ Her hands curled into fists, bunching up the fabric of her father’s kimono before she relaxed her grip. _She’d get stronger and stronger, just like before, back when she’d begged the Hokage to make her an apprentice._

Sakura peered over his shoulder then, waving a hand as she spotted the oddly nice purple-haired girl. “See you around, Ami!”


	5. Of Rabbits & Gods

**Chapter IV: Of Rabbits & Gods**

“Sakura!” her mother’s voice echoed up the stairs, and Sakura yawned as she pulled her door open. She had woken up slightly earlier than she was used to, and she was paying the price now. “Come on down! I’ve got lots for you to learn today,” she called, and Sakura perked up at the promise of more information about her confusing new world. _She wanted to know more about the forest surrounding them._ Her feet slapped against the stairs, excitement written all her face as she hurried down. “You’d better not be running down those stairs, Sakura!”

Wincing at the reminder, Sakura slowed her pace – at least until she hit the bottom of the stairs. Then she was sprinting again, eager to reach the cushions by the fireplace where her mother always told her interesting bedtime tales. It seemed it was time for another one, but after the events of yesterday, Sakura doubted they would be tales. Instead, she was expecting truths.

“Someone’s eager to learn, I see,” Mebuki mused, smiling as she patted the cushions next to her. “Come. Sit…”

Smiling, Sakura did as she was asked, eager for the lesson to begin. Any sort of information about her new world was welcome, even folk tales and fairy tales. The culture there was slightly different to Konoha, though most of the buildings there retained the same design as those she was used to. _For one people despised rabbits instead of foxes._ Though given Kaguya had been called the Rabbit Goddess back in he Elemental Nations… Sakura supposed she could get behind the idea.

“I told you yesterday,” her mother said, ruffling her hair as she pulled out a book with an inky black covering. “I’d be telling you about what lurks in the forest.”

Sakura blinked, staring at the silvery cursive script written on the covering. _The Wolves of Ookami,_ it read, and she frowned.

_“Ookami likes warriors like you.”_

The words floated through her brain, and Sakura swallowed – because it seemed like the Ookami mentioned was rather a big deal, especially to the village around her. Though Sakura enjoyed reading, the collections of books there weren’t as extensive as what she was used to. Most of it was either based on culture and lore, or on factual subjects needed in areas like the one she was in.

“Whose Ookami?” she asked innocently, tilting her head as she begged with her eyes for the answers she was thirsting for. Her appetite for knowledge was one thing which was still unchanged.

Mebuki smiled, flipping open the page, revealing the sketch of a wolf in ink. _There were no colourful photos there. Not even black and white ones._ She missed cameras the most, even if they were only for special occasions back then. At least it meant she could capture a few memories, even if only at events like festivals. “Listen, Sakura,” her voice turned serious and scolding. “If you ever see a wolf with white fur and red markings like these,” she said, tapping the decorative symbol made of swirling lines. “You hide where it cannot find you, or you get back to the village if you’re close enough and it can’t catch you before then, understand?”

Sakura swallowed. “I understand,” she echoed, knowing deep down she would likely encounter the wolf whether her mother liked it or not. _Because she was going to be worthy of that blessing the wolf from before had told her of._ Anything which would give her strength was something she had to earn or take.

_She wasn’t going to die again._

She had a feeling she wouldn’t get a third chance, _and it was doubtful she would end up with her old friends even if she died._ It was a completely different world. Sakura still had no idea _why_ she had been taken there but given the rabbit ears and the general Kaguya-ness, it probably meant nothing good for her.

“As for your question…” Mebuki trailed off, flipping over the page, revealing another ink sketch – this time of a pack of wolves. “Ookami is either the name or the title of the wolf which rules over its pack here in the mountains and forests bordering them.”

“ _Her_ ,” Sakura mumbled, remembering the wolf’s words. “Her blessing.”

Mebuki blinked, before she chuckled quietly. “You read a lot, don’t you? You already know about blessings… though don’t go trying to get one, missy. Only warriors and heroes ever come here in search of those – and more often than not they die before they can get them.”

“Blessing?” Sakura parroted, feeling an alarming kinship with the bird she wasn’t sure still existed in that world.

“Silly girl,” Mebuki murmured. “Didn’t you find out what that meant before mentioning it?” she asked, ruffling her pink locks yet again. “Well, I suppose it’s not like you’ll need it. As soon as you turn nine, I’ll begin teaching you my craft.”

Sakura blinked. “But what about the test at the temple?”

Her mother only sighed softly, petting her silky hair as she leant against the older woman. “Little bean, I don’t want to upset you… but this village has only produced three people capable of wielding magic in the last hundred years.”

“Oh.”

“But who knows what the future holds?” Mebuki mumbled, sitting back, turning her attention back onto the book. “Though I think the present is far more important for you,” she said, stern expression returning to her face. “You were very lucky last night, Sakura.”

“I know.” _Though she did have some skill, if not luck._ It was how she’d survived until those other wolves had come to claim their old companion’s body. Dimly, Sakura wondered why that wolf had attacked her. _Why it had been hunted down by others of its pack…_ Shrugging, Sakura presumed it was none of her business.

Not until she ventured back into the forest when she turned eight – almost a year away.

_She would attempt it then._

Ookami’s Blessing.

Whatever exactly that entailed. Sakura could only presume it worked something like a powerup, and hopefully there wouldn’t be any repercussions. She was searching for more power – more power native to that world – and if it meant confronting a powerful wolf, then so be it. _It was like a summon._ The worst that could happen would be that she was forced to run away very quickly, and that was something she would be improving on in the next year before she even went inside the forest again.

“Ookami is one of what is collectively known as the Thirteen,” her mother continued, stirring her from her thoughts, pulling her attention back to the book in front of her. “Depending on whom you ask, they’ll either tell you they’re minor gods, or demons.”

Sakura blinked, swallowing. _Had she just been thinking of challenging a being classed as a god at the tender age of eight?_ Her eyes narrowed. It wasn’t like she had a lot of time on her hands. _Because she had a feeling she would be going somewhere soon after her ninth birthday._

She needed to get much stronger… much, much stronger…

It wasn’t like she could be weak again. Not like her life before. Her hands curled into fists, chakra thrumming in her veins, ready to be used at a moments notice. _Not that she could really start at that moment._ Her mother was in the room, and her father was out in the garden – chopping the wood ready for the fireplace or the bath. _Probably both._

“Though sometimes,” Mebuki said, and Sakura resisted the urge to slap herself. _She was getting a lot of information about the world right then and there._ “They’re spoken of as the Nine and the Four, with Ookami belonging to the Four.”

“The Nine?” Sakura frowned, watching as her mother went and pulled out another book.

“You can read about them later, given they don’t actually affect us. You’re very unlikely to see one of the Nine this far west. They’re more common to the North and the South – your father learnt that much on his travels, before he settled down here.”

Sakura frowned that much harder. “But what about the East?” she asked, wondering why her mother hadn’t mentioned that place. _The same place which was apparently that the heart of their country was._ Though to get there, Sakura was fairly sure she’d seen a desert or some description on the maps between the East and the West.

“They don’t venture near there… in fact, they prefer to stay away from humans whenever possible,” her mother answered, and Sakura swallowed harshly as she eyes the red-bound book.

Her hands moved towards it, almost shaking as she flipped it open, heart almost stopping as she spied the ink drawing of a sandy racoon with markings. _Shukaku._ That was his name, according to what Naruto had told her. The One-Tail. _So what was it doing there?_

But Kaguya had also been there… _and back in the Elemental Nations at the same time._ Sakura shook her head, trying not to dwell on that thought. _Because her friends had probably moved onto the Pure Lands._ Dimly Sakura wondered if they had forgotten her by then. If they had moved on and found their peace in the afterlife.

She had, and she had sworn not to look back because otherwise she would just keep second guessing herself time and time again.

There was no time to dwell on the past, not with her strange future ahead of her. An unknown to explore. It terrified and excited her at the same time. _Because she wanted to explore this new place, but she didn’t want to again… and heading out unprepared into the unknown was a sure-fire way to get killed what with the luck she had proven to still have._ Let it be said the Curse of Team Seven was still happily inflicting itself upon her with a gleeful vengeance.

“But today we’re focusing on the Four, given how one of them lives in the forest surrounding us,” her mother spoke, yet again yanking her out of her thoughts. “It’s rather ironic though…”

“What is?”

Mebuki only chuckled. “Before the modern years came, the years were counted in cycles of thirteen, and some people still keep a track of what animal of the thirteen the year belongs to… Do you know which year you were born into?”

“No.” She tilted her head, blinking owlishly up at her mother. _Really if there had been a rabbit she would have said the year of that, given exactly who had dragged her soul there._ But there was no rabbit as far as she was aware amongst the Nine at least – not to mention those creatures were hated there, so she didn’t want to try and guess that. Something told her the reaction to that would not be good. So she waited for her mother to tell her.

“The Year of the Wolf,” her mother answered, a gentle smile on her face. “It wasn’t a nice year, what with the floods and the harsh winter… It’s why you’re the only baby who survived it.” She poked her small nose, and Sakura blinked. “You’re a survivor, Sakura. So don’t go running off into the woods anytime soon, Little Wolf Child… because I have the strangest feeling you wouldn’t come back the same, if at all,” she murmured, trailing off, and Sakura silently apologised.

Because she had to.

It felt as though coincidences were lining up. _She had bumped into the wolf on her first outing into the forest. She had been told about Ookami’s blessing. Now she found out she was born in the Year of the Wolf._ Green eyes narrowed, and Sakura smiled grimly.

It was like the universe was telling her to do it, and though she loathed to listen to it, there was a strange feeling deep in her bones. One which sung to her of power and the strength she needed if she were to follow that path.

“Neh, mama,” Sakura spoke up, brow wrinkling as she finally found the time to ask about what had been bugging her ever since her arrival there. “Why does everyone hate rabbits?”

Blinking, Mebuki frowned at her. “Ah. I guess it hasn’t come up in your fairy-tales because it’s a bit of a darker story.”

Leaning forwards, Sakura stared up at her mother, all but demanding answers to her questions with her eyes. “Tell me. Please? I’m a big girl now.”

“If you say so, Little Bean,” she said, chuckling at the grimace on Sakura’s face at the sound of that all too familiar pet name. _She honestly preferred Little Wolf Child over Little Bean._ At least the former sounded a bit more scary – because what fear could a bean inspire. _Unless it involved allergies though,_ she guessed. “The reason people see rabbits as an ill omen are because of their patron goddess – The Rabbit Goddess, sometimes called the Moon Rabbit, because only under the light of the moon can she achieve her full power. She betrayed the rest of the gods and goddesses, you see.”

Sakura chewed on her lip, shivering as she remembered those pale white rabbit ears in place of the horns which should have been there.

_The Rabbit Goddess. The Moon Rabbit._ However she was called changed nothing. She had visited them the night of her birth – been in her sight when she had woken up in that tiny, frail form. But unlike the Kaguya she remembered, this one had given her life. It hadn’t been taken away unlike the horned version who had stolen her and her friends’ lives.

They were different from each other.

That much was evident. _So why did she seem to have a similarly dark history in her new world?_ More importantly though… _What was the connection between her and that strange goddess?_ Sakura swallowed, throat feeling dry as her mother explained more and more about how she had betrayed the other gods and goddesses. _How she had tried to poison them, jealous of what they each governed when she could only truly access her full power on the night of the full moon…_

Lavender eyes came up in her thoughts then, and Sakura shivered, climbing to her feet all of a sudden.

“You alright there?” her mother asked, one eyebrow raised in question as she tottered over to the window, intent on getting some fresh air.

“’m fine,” she mumbled, pushing it open ever so slightly, only to freeze when she saw it sitting there in the middle of the road. A rabbit. Not just any rabbit though. The same one she had seen before around the place.

_White-furred._ _With pale purple eyes which seemed to bore into her very soul as she locked eyes with the little creature. The same kind of creature she had loved before when she was a little girl back in Konohagakure._

She wasn’t in Konohagakure anymore.

She wasn’t even in the Elemental Nations anymore.

Swallowing nervously, she pulled the window shut once more, hurrying back to sit with her mother, slightly shaken at the third appearance of that particular rabbit. _One whose hair and eyes matched that of the Rabbit Goddess._ She was fairly certain that wasn’t a coincidence. Not with how often she had seen it watching her with something that could only be described as interest.

But having the patron animals of a sealed, traitorous goddess following her around could only be interpreted as an ill omen. _A sign of foul fortune to come._ But Sakura was accustomed to that well enough thanks to her less than stellar luck. Trouble would always find her.

She just needed to be ready when it did decide to show its ugly face.

“How was the Moon Rabbit sealed?” she asked, remembering how desperately Naruto and Sasuke had tried to seal her away using the power from the sage. _Had it involved white suns and black moons there too?_

Mebuki only smiled, climbing to her feet as Sakura wandered around the room – staying away from the few windows as best she could. _She didn’t want to see the rabbit which unnerved her so. Didn’t want to start asking questions she had no answers to._ “Our saviour…” her mother said, walking over to the kitchen. “One of the nine most worshiped gods and goddesses, and he governs over another creature, just as the Moon Rabbit does.”

Sakura toddled around after her mother, curiosity burning inside her as she reached the kitchen in time to see her mother readying to prepare lunch. “What creature?” she enquired, the sparks of curiosity feeling as though they were about to burst as she waited eagerly for the answers only her mother seemed to have.

Her father tended to be the more closed lip type when discussing about their gods and goddesses. More so because apparently he was scared of rabbits somewhat. _But then again he was the one out of both her parents who had apparently travelled and seen the world beyond their village._ Maybe that had something to do with it? Sakura tilted her head. _After all, her new world was that much more scary than her last, or so it seemed._ Even if there were no shinobi to steal people away and slice their throats open. _Instead there were scary wolves and godly beings who roamed the earth._

Somehow she doubted her power compared to that of a true god or goddess. She was just a frog in a small well, and sooner or later she would be climbing out of that well. _Or so she hoped._

Pouting, Sakura stared up at her mother. “Come on, mama,” she groaned, earning herself a poke on the nose. “Tell me please!”

Mebuki chuckled, answering in her next breath.

“Dragons.”


	6. A Year of Training

**Chapter V: A Year of Training**

It was rather simple to get into a routine with a goal in sight.

She had just under a year to get into some sort of shape, and she wasn’t about to waste a single moment of it when her life itself might rest upon her decisions there. The fact of the matter was that she didn’t know enough about that world. She didn’t understand enough of the lore, or how the so-called _magic_ worked there. She didn’t know how powerful gods and goddesses were there compared to those spoken of, but not seen, in the Elemental Nations.

So the goal was to become as physically powerful as she could, even while nursing a budding friendship with the purple-haired girl who’d once been her sworn nemesis. Ami always seemed to pop up everywhere, and Sakura had, at first, entertained the idea that perhaps she had been reborn as well – but Ami had hated her. Despised her. Loathed her. No matter how she put it, they meant the same thing, which was why Sakura was all but certain she was the only reincarnator there. _Kaguya could only have grabbed her soul, and possibly that of her teammates’… but she knew that hadn’t happened._

The grand figure of Death had acknowledged some kind of claim the rabbit-eared Kaguya had upon her, and she doubted Naruto or the others had anything similar. It was a feeling, deep in her bones, and Sakura knew to listen to those sorts of instincts. They were the kind which would save her life, stranded in that strange world as it was.

“What are you doing?”

Sakura paused, mid press-up. “Getting stronger,” she said, grinning at the purple-haired girl. “I don’t wanna be weak, plus I’m gonna have to start helping mama around the house soon.” She stood up, flexing her almost non-existent muscles – she had been working _hard_ so she couldn’t call them completely non-existent. “So I’ll need to be a little bit stronger.” _Added to the fact that she had made up her mind to challenge a damned minor goddess as soon as she celebrated her eighth birthday._ There was no time to waste.

While she couldn’t do too much weight training until her chakra fully settled in – and offset any injuries which might come from using weights at such a young age. _She had been a medic, and never before had Sakura been more grateful about that fact._ Though she had decided the medic part of her studies could come later. Her medical knowledge, otherworldly or not, wouldn’t come in handy if she died before she could find a larger town. Strength was what she needed then, first and foremost. She could worry about everything else at a later date.

“You’re so weird, Sakura,” Ami muttered, sitting on the fallen tree log – which had been placed there for the exact purpose of sitting on. It was an odd sort of hangout for children and teenagers allowed outside with their parents’ permission.

Sakura grinned, standing up to her full height – press-ups completed for the day – stretching out her stick-like arms. “It’d be boring if I was normal,” she said, feeling terribly happy as the other girl snorted. _It was the closest thing to laughter she could pry from the older girl’s lips._ “Besides… who knows what’ll happen in the future?”

Ami scoffed. “You’re still thinking that you’re gonna be this village’s next mage?” she asked scathingly, arms folded. “You’ve got your head in the clouds, Saku…” She flopped back on the log then, staring toward the sky. “It’s better to be down to earth… ‘cause then you won’t be disappointed when your dreams fall through.”

“Sometimes you sound like the actual adult out of the pair of us, y’know,” Sakura said, snorting at the thought. _The eldest one between them was actually her._ Even if no one else was aware of that actuality.

“I’m the older one,” Ami said, sticking out her tongue, book laid flat across her lap. “So I’m _waaay_ more sensible than you. I don’t have stupid dreams of getting out of this village. Mother thinks I’ll marry the tailor’s boy and live a quiet life here… who knows if I’ll end up running the bakery or not…”

“Do you wanna run the bakery?” Sakura asked, tilting her head as she went and jumped atop the log, crouching down next to her only friend then in the village. She hadn’t seen any of the others since the night of the test of courage.

Ami shrugged.

Sakura hummed, a sardonic smirk playing on her lips. “Y’know… I think you really deep down wanna be the village’s next mage,” she said, peering down at the indignant expression which soon crossed Ami’s face.

“Do not!” Ami yelled, sitting up just as Sakura leapt away from the log, running as fast as she could as she heard Ami begin chasing her.

“Do too!” she called, laughing merrily at the indignant squeal of rage behind her. _It was oddly therapeutic to tease the girl who resembled her past life’s bully._ They weren’t one and the same, and they never would be. _Not least because she, too, was completely different to how she had been as a seven-year-old last time around._

“Get back here, Sakura!”

Sakura only laughed harder, running away all the while, indulging herself in her childish whims and all they entailed. “Never!”

* * *

Chilly morning air greeted her as she lapped the village for a second time that morning, returning the cheerful greetings she was given – most people having quickly grown accustomed to her eccentricity. _Or so they called her desire to be fit, healthy, and strong._ Truly, Sakura despaired sometimes at how backward society there was compared to a modern Konoha. _State-of-the-art plumbing, television, parks, hospitals, medical knowledge…_ Those were things of the distant past. Sakura had no idea if anything more eastwards was more advanced. _Yet another thing to check out when she became bigger… or perhaps once she turned nine._

Sighing, Sakura continued her running, all the while marvelling over the fact that her legs were definitely far stronger than her arms. _And not naturally so, either._ She had far too much to figure out, but she supposed she had to be patient. There was no one so far west who would be able to answer the numerous questions she had about her new world.

All she could do was train, both her body and with her settling chakra, and then by the time the sun dawned on her eighth, she’d be venturing into that forest. One that terribly childish part of her still considered to be scary. The trees were tall, not unlike those which had grown in the aptly named _Forest of Death_ and she was smaller and in a strange world. A place where minor gods and goddesses and possibly demons too seemed to hang out in the backwater forest surrounding a tiny, relatively unknown village.

There was a reason only a few merchants ever visited. Sakura supposed it wasn’t that much of a surprise. _It meant less chance of a kidnapping or anything of an unsavoury sort happening due to outside forces._ Less merchants meant less goods though, and Sakura supposed it meant less bandits would come to dwell in those parts and terrorise them. _She had hated bandit elimination missions more than anything in the world, if only because they were often involved in the slave trade, and they weren’t kind to their so-called goods._ Everything had its good points and bad points. Sakura only hoped that the good continued to outweigh the bad. _And that maybe, just maybe, she might be able to become a mage and find out more about the world._

_About those words the Rabbit Goddess had whispered to her so long ago._

Truth be told, she couldn’t remember them too well, only that a bunny-eared Kaguya had a hand in her reincarnation there. Sakura didn’t know whether to be grateful, or whether she was meant to hate and worry about that fact. Perhaps she wouldn’t have feared too much if it had been a _good_ person who had interfered with her death and life after, but nothing could change the fact it had been Kaguya. The same face as the one who had ultimately killed her.

Sakura didn’t think she could trust her, but maybe that was the traditional shinobi paranoia talking there. She knew too little to make a proper judgement, and she hadn’t seen Kaguya – presuming that was her name, perhaps – since her birth. There had only been the rabbits since then, and going off the fact Kaguya had been called the Rabbit Goddess, and the fact she had rabbit ears rather than horns… She thought they might be there to keep an eye on her. Sometimes she attempted to spy on the small fluffy creatures when she ventured into the eaves of the forest, keeping her eyes peeled for the white rabbit with pearlescent eyes. Not that spying on rabbits had done much good, other than helping her with her stealthy sneaky skills, as Ami liked to call them whenever she used them against the older girl.

She didn’t know if everything she was doing would be enough, part of her fearing being _too_ weak. _As she had been once before._ Things were different to the Elemental Nations though, and Sakura took heart in that as she finished her run, hurrying back towards her home, breath misting in front of her – a sign that winter was on its way out, ready for a crisp cool spring, and it would grow warmer and warmer. Until the next year, which, when things started to become cooler once more, would mean it was time for her to venture into the forest to face the minor goddess she was readying then abouts to battle. _Or whatever it was she was meant to do._

“Little Bean!”

Sakura grimaced at the bothersome pet name as she was swept off her feet upon her return to her home. Grunting, she pushed at her father’s face. “Do you _have_ to call me that?” she grumbled, fondness surging at the familiar chuckles which rumbled from his chest, and Sakura felt an odd panging in her chest.

The world she was in wasn’t like her old one, where she had always returned to her parents after completing a mission. Rather, at the rate things were going, she would become a mage, or a traveller at the very least, and she would go on to leave that village. There was no other way to do things, because deep in her bones, there was something urging her onwards. A little voice in the back of her head, _like Inner,_ urging her to become stronger.

_In order to survive what was coming._

Sakura didn’t quite understand what that meant, and unfortunately that was because she understood so little of that strange world. The stories her mother told were something else, but not quite what she was searching for. She was so very thirsty – so very hungry for information – it was like a dry well had opened up inside her, and Sakura felt compelled to fill it up with a fountain of information. Information she knew wouldn’t be found as far west as she knew she was.

Sighing softly she looked between her parents, wondering how they would feel about her leaving. They had been wonderful parents, terrible echoes of the ones she had before, and Sakura always struggled to not compare them – to not think them the same, because they weren’t. For all that Haruno Mebuki and Haruno Kizashi were alike to their counterparts in the Elemental Nations, there were undeniable differences there. The way they walked, the way they talked, who they interacted with. They were warmer in some ways in that strange land, what with the odd sense of community Sakura always felt hovering about the village. _Because it wasn’t Konoha, and there were no shinobi, no threats living amongst them for them to fear._

“Sakura, yoohoo?” A hand waved in front of her face, and Sakura only sighed, letting her head flop against her father’s shoulder.

“Mm,” she grunted. “What’s it?”

“You want your breakfast yet?” her mother asked, an unreadable expression on her face as she stared at her as she lay, sweaty and sticky in her father’s arms.

“Un!” Sakura nodded, squirming in the hold until her father got the hint and released her to charge about the house. “Thanks, mama.”

Her mother only smiled, sighing quietly as Sakura seated herself at the somewhat rickety table, ready for the morning meal. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, especially with her training. She needed to build muscle, and the right diet would help her do just that. Nodding to herself, she watched as breakfast was served, and immersed herself in conversation with her precious family. _The same one she would likely be leaving after her ninth birthday had passed._

* * *

The moon hung heavy in the sky, a bright white orb shining through the gap in the dark grey cloud cover. Truly, it was an eerie night, or so Sakura mused as she looked out upon the village from her room. The forest was there in the backdrop, spooky and haunting, what with how the shadows seemed to move. If she stared hard enough, she could sometimes see little glowing circles which glinted. _Eyes._ The hairs on her body stood up on end at the thought of what lurked out there. _Because she wasn’t in a world she knew the rules of, nor did she know all of the creatures which lurked in the forest she would soon venture into._

Caution. That was what she needed, along with patience and strength, though the latter was proving to be slow going. Muscles and base strength wasn’t something she could acquire overnight, nor was a good level of cardiac fitness. Her chakra-enhanced strength only built on top of that which she already had.

Her breath misted on the window, and Sakura shivered, drawing upon her chakra then, as if it might keep her warm. It rippled over her skin, and her eyes could only widen as the source she was pulling from shifted. No longer was she pulling from that familiar blue source. Rather, she was tugging from the little white bundle hidden behind her chakra stores which were large enough to dwarf it by that point, thanks to constant chakra exercises. By her own rough estimates she had more than she had when she had ventured out on that fateful Wave Mission.

That white chakra, as she had taken to calling it, was unmistakably different to her normal blue chakra which she had always known. _More power._ Though Sakura wasn’t entirely certain of its origins. _A new source after her reincarnation there?_ She didn’t have enough information, and she was gleefully looking forwards to the day when she discovered a library once more. _Not that Konoha had many of those, other than the civilian ones._ This place wasn’t Konoha though, so she hoped for something more, though it was likely her hopes somewhere would be crushed. They always tended to be. _It was just her luck._

The unfamiliar chakra hummed over her skin, and Sakura wasn’t quite sure what to make of it all, until she finally registered the unfamiliar visage reflected somewhat in the window. Her hair was still pink – she could see that much – but the visage, the reflection, of herself wasn’t. Rather it was white haired, with pearlescent purplish eyes with veins which bulged around those strange terrifyingly familiar orbs.

Sakura stumbled back, weaving her fingers through her pastel pink locks, shaking her head as she dived back under her covers, determined to forget the sight which she had just seen. White chakra curled back towards her core, and Sakura buried it, hiding it away behind the familiar blue chakra. Out of sight, out of mind, was what she wanted it to be. At least until those memories stopped being so haunting.

The memories of her death that was.

Seeing white rabbits with those eyes hadn’t taken her back to that fateful day when her fate was forever severed from that of her old friends but _seeing that humanish lavender-eyed reflection on the other hand_ … Sakura shivered, and not from the cold, as she curled up beneath her covers, closing her eyes, determined to block out the strange world right then and there.

A world which wouldn’t seem to let her forget the pale-haired, lavender-eyed ghost whose hand had speared through her chest and sent her tumbling into a place she knew too little about to not be afraid of what lurked in the shadows.

* * *

Time passed, and Sakura was careful not to tap into her white chakra ever again. Not until she overcame the trauma which accompanied her death and subsequent incarnation in those strange lands. Her muscles grew, arms and legs becoming more and more toned, and her chakra slowly began to settle in to that tiny body of hers. She became better at enhancing her own strength to the next degree, chakra stores continuing to grow until she could scarcely believe the amount she had gathered in that oh so very tiny body of hers.

Everything was different, and she was far stronger than she had been before, though she had yet to achieve any sort of healing feats. Those could wait until she was twelve once more. Becoming stronger in that tiny body was all that mattered, because otherwise she wouldn’t survive. But she had to keep herself healthy, whether by eating the correct sustenance, or by maintaining her relationships with those whom she was closest to in that small village.

And so time passed in that repetitive fashion, and little Haruno Sakura grew in strength, until the morning of her eighth birthday dawned, bright and clear.

**Author's Note:**

> SPORADIC UPDATES


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